Coalition building and learning

What is it about?

Although coalition-building inevitably includes learning processes, not many studies pay attention to exploring them together. This ethnographic case study investigates the coalition-building and learning of activists who work in a leading Korean-American community organization in a major city in the United States. Using cultural–historical activity theory as a theoretical framework, a coalition activity was identified based on the organization's socio-cultural and historical contexts. Four contradictions were discovered within the activity. These contradictions may have impeded coalition-building and learning between the organization's activists and partners. By negotiating contradictions through several efforts (actions) in their daily work, the activists elicited both intended and unintended outcomes, including individual learning. These findings contribute to providing practical insights for other community organizations to cultivate coalitions through emphasizing learning as an ongoing socio-cultural process.

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Why is it important?

The findings contribute to providing practical insights for other community organizations to cultivate coalitions through emphasizing learning as an ongoing socio-cultural process.